


A Study in Acceptance

by firefright



Series: A/B/O fics [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe, Biting, Blow Jobs, Dubious Consent, Fingerfucking, Intersex Omegas, Knotting, M/M, Marking, Masturbation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Omega Jason Todd, mentioned threesomes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-25
Updated: 2015-09-25
Packaged: 2018-04-23 08:01:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4869287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firefright/pseuds/firefright
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Six heats in the life of Jason Todd, reluctant omega. From the first, all the way to the one where he finally gets what he wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Study in Acceptance

**Author's Note:**

> This beast came out of nowhere, there's no relation between it and my other A/B/O fic, 'Heat Party'.
> 
> As with most of my fics, this story works off a mix of old and Nu52 canon. Part 5 was written before the release of Grayson #12, which confirmed Jason did in fact attend Dick's funeral. However in this universe he was off in SPAAACE with Roy and Kori at the time instead.
> 
> Warning for mild underage fantasising in part 1, as well as dub-con in part 2.

1.

Jason was fourteen when he had his first heat.

He had woken up with what felt like a burning fever and cramping in his belly. A feeling so uncomfortably bad that he almost thought he was really, truly, terribly sick (possibly with something from running into Ivy last night), except that when he tried to draw his legs up to his chest sparks of arousal ricocheted up his spine from between his thighs and he could feel the slick between them making his boxers stick to his skin.

"Fuck." Jason said, biting the back of his hand as he shivered. "Fuck fuck fuck..."

When hiding his head under the pillow and trying to will away reality didn't work, Jason finally forced himself to sit up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed in an effort to get up. It was the middle of winter and normally leaving the cosy cocoon of his blankets made him shiver, but today, instead of the cold, he felt like he was steadily cooking in his own skin. Sweat made his hair stick unpleasantly to his forehead before he reached up and ruffled it loose. 

He needed something, he needed... Jason bit back a whine. He wasn't a baby, he could handle himself. It might not even be _that_ , it could some delayed effect from Ivy's spores from last night.

A cold shower, he needed a cold shower. Uneasily Jason got up from the bed, biting back the urge to crawl back into the covers, and made his way over to the door. He only cracked it open at first, taking a moment to peek out to make sure no one else was out in the hallway before exiting his room. This would be so much easier if his bedroom had an en-suite bathroom like Bruce's did.

Fortunately for him, Jason's mad dash across the hall went unnoticed by anyone else. Given the time Alfred was probably down in the kitchen preparing their usual late breakfast, and Bruce could be anywhere from still in bed, to the cave, or even the offices of Wayne Enterprises. Jason hadn't exactly paid close attention when he'd talked about the day's plans outside of patrol.

The icy water made him gasp once he'd shucked off his clothes, grimacing at his stained boxers before throwing them in the laundry basket. Jason endured it, though, staying in until the fire in his skin faded away. His teeth were chattering when he finally the shower and bundled himself into a towel. Jason gave his oversensitive body only the briskest rub down possible before he pulled his pyjama bottoms and sleeping shirt back on again. He decided he'd have to get some clean underwear out of his drawers later.

For now, he turned to head down to the kitchen. Alfred would be there and Alfred was _safe_ , Jason knew he could trust Alfred with anything. He just had to find him, explain and the butler would take care of everything the same way he always did.

It sounded simple and easy enough, but the journey downstairs was longer than he remembered, and the further he got from his room and the lure of his comfortable bed the worse Jason felt. A cramp hit him halfway down the stairs and he had to stop to wrap his arms around his middle, gritting his teeth against the discomfort before carrying determinedly onwards. In hindsight, Jason realised that if he'd just stayed upstairs long enough Alfred would have eventually come to him, and the thought made him flush and curse himself for his stupidity.

Well, he was already most of the way there, he might as well just keep going now.

"Alfred?" His voice cracked when he spoke, because the fire in his belly was already creeping back up and it was _embarrassing_. Jason tried to keep his legs together as he walked, aiming to stem the wetness that was growing between them so it wouldn't noticeable stain his sweatpants. "Alfred, I -" 

Another cramp hit him and Jason stumbled with the force of it, his bare feet slipping on the tiled kitchen floor. He resigned himself to the fall, only to be surprised when a strong arm caught him instead and heaved him back up against someone's chest.

"Whoa, easy there, Little..." The voice, which became painfully familiar in that second, trailed off, and Jason realised with dawning horror that he and Alfred weren't actually alone in the manor this morning. "Uh..."

A scent like warm salted caramel, delicious and mouth-watering, hit his nose as he looked up into Dick Grayson's slackjawed face. In that moment he was the best thing Jason had ever smelled in his life. The thought drove him to try and press himself closer to the muscled body currently holding his, even as his mind recoiled at the humiliation of running into his supposed big brother like this. 

He didn't smell very brotherly to Jason right now, and his voice croaked as he clung to him, "Dick..."

His name seemed to startle Dick into action, because he suddenly pushed Jason back and held him out at arms length. God, Jason actually whimpered at the loss of contact. "Jay, I..." The older teenager sounded strangled as he turned his head and yelled down the hallway, "Alfred!"

How had he never noticed how good Dick smelled before? Or how much strength there was in his arms? Or even how very blue Dick's eyes were. Abruptly Jason found himself thinking of the Nightwing costume, and the design suddenly didn't seem so laughable anymore, not with the way it opened at the front to bare the top of Dick's chest in a way that couldn't help but draw the eye. _Shit_ , he thought distantly, as he wondered what it would be like to slide his hand over Dick's golden skin, or maybe even touch his lips to it.

Better yet, he thought about Dick touching him, about how Dick's hands would feel if they held him close the way they had a moment ago, if they moved over his body to chase away the itching in his flesh. He knew, with certainty, that if Dick just touched him everything would feel better. Jason swallowed thickly, his mouth was full of saliva, and he subconsciously moved his head back, baring his throat in -

"What on earth is - oh my!" Jason whined as thin, but strong, arms pulled him completely away from Dick, before forcibly turning his head so his face was pressed against Alfred's impeccably ironed shirt. The familial smell of tea leaves and lemon was more than enough to overpower Dick's alpha aroma at this distance. "Master Jason!"

"I swear I didn't know, Alfred! I was just eating and he came in the door." He heard Dick stepping backwards as he made his excuses, feet skidding over the kitchen tiles. "You know I -s I never would've -"

"Of course, Master Richard. But perhaps if you might..."

"Uh yeah, I'm gonna, uh, take off." Jason thought he must have made some sort of noise, because he distinctly heard Alfred hush him a moment after Dick spoke, before the beta butler firmly pulled him out of the kitchen and back towards the stairs. 

Jason was sweating again by the time they were halfway up, he choked back another whine as he pressed closer to Alfred. The further away from Dick he got, the clearer his head became, and the worse he felt about it. 

"I'm sorry." He said, voice sounding small and pathetic to his own ears.

"It's alright, young sir."

"No it's not." Jason shook his head miserably. "I... I didn't mean to... I didn't know Dick was..." 

"He showed up unexpectedly this morning to use the cave's computer, then decided to stay for breakfast." Alfred explained kindly. If he minded Jason's clinging he didn't show it. "An unfortunate coincidence."

Of course it was, Jason thought numbly. He still had a sinking feeling in his chest over the encounter. "Am I in trouble?"

"Now why on earth would you think that?" 

"Because... I don't know, I - with Dick and... I'm not going to be able to go on patrol tonight."

They made it up to the landing and Alfred kept the pace, steering Jason towards his room with his usual unflappable composure. "Both things occurring because of something beyond your control, and the latter an eventuality for which we are fully prepared. Master Bruce was quite aware of your designation when he took you in and allowed you to become Robin."

Jason flushed as they entered his room, and Alfred guided him to sit down on his bed. Jason reached to pull the blanket over his lap quickly, as sitting made some things all the more obvious. "I know... I just..." he looked down, shame-faced. 

When he'd been on Gotham's streets it was widely accepted that being an omega was easily the worst thing you could be. An almost guarantee that you'd wind up a victim once you hit puberty; or maybe before if you ran into the wrong person. Jason, through a combination of hiding what he was and putting on a tough act, had been lucky enough to mostly avoid that kind of attention until Batman showed up to offer him a better life. But he'd still seen what happened to other omega's in Crime Alley (to his mom), and shaking off the conditioning of his upbringing - that omega meant weak, meant useless except for one thing - was easier said than done. A part of him had always hoped he'd miraculously never have to suffer the indignity of heat.

Alfred tutted, as if he could read his mind, and ran his fingers through Jason's hair in an unexpectedly open display of affection. "Everything will be alright, young sir. I know it isn't pleasant now, but once your heat is over I promise everything will go back to normal."

 _Until the next one_ , Jason thought, as he nodded and hunkered further down into the blankets. Alfred's promises were never broken. "Bruce..."

"I will inform him, not to worry." Alfred moved his hand down to pat Jason's shoulder before withdrawing completely. "Now, do try to rest. I will fetch you up some more blankets and pillows, momentarily, after which I believe a hot breakfast and bath will help you feel better. _Not_ a cold one." His gaze was entirely too knowing for comfort.

"Uh, yeah." Jason's face flushed, though he couldn't tell if it was due to his heat or the embarrassment of being caught out, and pulled the blankets tighter around himself as he watched Alfred walk out the door, closing it behind him.

"Sure..."

He didn't lie down, figuring there was no point if Alfred was going to come in and mess with the bedding soon enough. Instead Jason turned his attention to trying not to focus on the foreign sensations running through his body; he distinctly didn't think about the way his skin was hyper-sensitive to the touch of the fabric wrapped around him, or how the wet slickness between his legs was steadily soaking into his sweatpants, and he _definitely_ didn't let his thoughts wander back towards Dick Grayson in any way, shape or form. 

He really should have grabbed another pair of boxers, except that would mean even more wet cloth clinging to him.

Suddenly Jason wanted to cry, and bit down hard on his lip in an attempt to quell the urge. He didn't want this, he'd never wanted it. Everything would be so much easier if he were anything else.

"Jason?" He started, pulling the blankets tighter around himself at the quiet knock at the door. 

A bolt of fear shot through him as his father-figure entered his room, wearing a black business suit, and it lasted up until the moment he caught wind of Bruce's scent and found that there was no change to the way he read their bond. Unlike with Dick - whose scent had immediately screamed something dark and arousing - Bruce's smell was still as comfortingly paternal as it had ever been. The worry that it might have changed wasn't one Jason had even realised he'd had until the man himself appeared. 

He was relieved, but Jason still couldn't help sniffling and attempted to hunker even further down into his blankets. Maybe if he burrowed in hard enough he could completely disappear. 

"I'm fine." He replied, carefully not looking at Bruce.

The bed dipped as Bruce sat down next to him. "Are you sure? Alfred told me - I wanted to check on you before I left today."

"I'm _fine_." Jason almost snapped. He tried willing Bruce to understand how humiliating this was for him,he didn't want anyone to see him like this, let alone the man who had more or less become his father. "I'm sorry I'm not going to be able to patrol later, alright? I know I'm letting you down, but I didn't ask for this to happen."

Jason didn't look up, but he heard the sharp intake of Bruce's breath at the words, seconds before a muscled arm draped around his shoulders and pulled him in close. It was a hug, Bruce was hugging him he realised. It was such a rare action that Jason couldn't truly process it for a moment, and when he did he all but folded into Bruce's side, hiding his head against the older man's chest. 

"No, Jason, no. You're not letting me down." Bruce said, his voice deep and comforting, "This is normal for an omega your age, there's nothing for you to be sorry about."

"What if you need me though? What if you get into trouble?" He lifted his face to look up at Bruce. "I'm supposed to be your partner! What good am I if I can't be there to help you?!" 

He didn't mean for his insecurities to spill out of him but it happened anyway, starting with the constant fear that this life was fleeting, and should he fail at the role Bruce had given him he could say goodbye to all the family and comfort that he'd found here. Worse was the thought that without him Bruce could be hurt, or even killed in a way that would have been completely preventable had Jason been with him.

Bruce's grip on his shoulder tightened for a moment, "Jay... I'll be alright. Batman can manage alone for a couple of nights without Robin. I've done it before."

Back before he had a Robin, back before he had Jason, or when Jason had been injured or otherwise out of the action. The reminder didn't make him feel better. "But - I..." His mouth twisted downwards. "I wish I wasn't an omega."

"Your designation doesn't make you any less capable than anyone else, Jason. There are plenty of omega hero's out there, and they're just as strong as any alpha or beta." Bruce assured him, his was the steady, calm tone of a believer. "I chose you to be Robin, Jason, and nothing's going to change that."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing." Bruce said firmly. "Trust me, son. You'll be back out at my side before you know it." He gave Jason another squeeze against his side, and the restrained power in his arm made him feel just as safe as Bruce's coffee-and-bourbon scent did. Back when he first came to the manor he used to sneak into Bruce's room when he wasn't there, just so he could lie on his bed and soak in that comforting smell.

Jason swallowed as he looked back down, forcing himself to nod once before he hid his face back against Bruce's side. He felt fingers thread through his hair a moment later, and the touch helped to further calm him down. If Bruce felt at all awkward about the situation he didn't let it show. He just let Jason have this moment of weakness, let him sniffle and curl close while the two of them waited for Alfred to come back together.

Logically he knew Bruce was right, he had to trust in him. He had never let Jason down before. So if he said this was okay and he'd still get to be Robin afterwards, then Jason believed him. He really did.

It was a comforting thought, and one Jason would hold onto to get himself through the next couple of days. There was nothing more important than being Robin, nothing he wouldn't suffer through to feel the magic that came with the name.

 

2.

He was seventeen, and weeks out from a dunk in the Lazarus Pit. From almost blowing Bruce up with a bomb in Gotham.

Memories of coming back from the dead still ran fresh in Jason's mind, alongside alternating grief and rage over what was not done to avenge him. Then, to top it all off, his body added to the betrayal by going into heat.

He wasn't alone when it happened, as he sank down to the floor in front of his board of photographs and newspaper clippings. Timothy Drake's face seemed to mock him; the boy was a beta by all accounts and had none of Jason's biological drawbacks to contend with, which only made Jason hate him more. Talia's fingers felt like firebrands on his shoulder when she touched him and her scent, a sharp combination of ginger and cinnamon, burned brilliantly in his nose.

"Jason." She still sounded perfectly in control, even as he felt like he was breaking apart all over again. "I did not expect this to happen so soon. I would have made you better arrangements."

He laughed bitterly at that, "S'okay, universe hates me, right?" Jason wrapped his arms around himself as he shivered, fighting not to lean back into her. He wondered if this was the Pit at work, accelerating things. "Just leave me alone, I'll manage."

Talia's piercing gaze didn't waver, "You expect me to believe that when you don't believe it yourself?"

"I believe it plenty. It's not like I haven't gone through this before."

Jason heard her sigh as her fingers tightened their grip. The gesture made his heart skip a beat unexpectedly. He hated himself for it. "Jason, you don't have to."

"Don't have to? What other choice do I have? I'm fucking..." He snorted and bit his lip, fingers tightening their grip on his elbows. Every moment that passed made it harder for him to think clearly in her presence. "Talia _please _."__

__Jason meant it as a request for her to leave, but once the words were out of his mouth he suddenly didn't feel so sure. If she left he was resigning himself to more days of lonely misery, forsaken by both his own body and the family he thought had loved him. They didn't even care enough to avenge him, or to wait until they replaced him with a newer, shinier model._ _

__He'd never have that comfort again. He'd never have Alfred soothing away his discomfort with clean blankets, hot tea and home cooking, or feel the comfort of Bruce's hand brushing his hair when he came in to check on Jason, paternal scent helping to calm the fevered itch in his skin for brief moments. It was gone from him, all of it, taken out of his reach by Bruce's own inaction._ _

__So long as the Joker continued to live and breathe Jason could never go home._ _

__A sound, a keen, escaped his lips before Talia's hand cupped his face and when he looked up he thought he saw his own loneliness reflected in her eyes. He knew she loved Bruce, despite clashing designations and ideologies, and that thought curdled in his belly uncomfortably as her thumb brushed over the corner of his lips._ _

__"Jason, tell me," God, she was too close. "I will go if you wish. Or I can stay and help you, it is your choice."_ _

__Desire rushed through him and his lips parted to her touch. There was no way for Jason to miss what she meant by 'help'. It wasn't that uncommon for alphas and omegas to pair up outside of romantic interest to assist each other through heats, as a sort of 'friends with benefits' arrangement, but he'd never done it before. He'd been too young, Bruce would never have allowed it, the same way as he had forbidden Jason from suppressants until he was sixteen, and... and..._ _

__Fuck Bruce, he thought with sudden green-tinged viciousness, fuck him and his uptight morals. What good had it done Jason before? He'd _died_ and his killer was still living, still breathing and killing all over again. _Fuck him._ He didn't want to suffer through this alone, not again._ _

__"Will you get me suppressants after?" Jason asked her, his skin sparked as he leaned into the exciting press of Talia's hand. He wasn't going to be fucked over by his biology anymore after this, he swore it._ _

__"Yes." Talia answered with some disapproval, not for the request as it turned out, but for his timing of it. "You don't have to bargain with me, Jason, I have already promised to help you."_ _

__Jason closed his eyes at the reprimand, the only surrender to submissive behaviour that he allowed himself, and then swallowed before nodding. Why the hell not. "Okay. Yeah okay, then."_ _

__Her mouth closed over his only moments later, and Talia's lips were both as soft and dominating as he expected. Her scent filled his nose, inescapably powerful and _alpha_ , which made him keen again as his hands landed on her shoulders, gripping tightly at the silk fabric of her shirt._ _

__"Don't worry, Jason." She whispered against his mouth as the kiss broke. He could taste the imprint of her lipstick on his tongue when he licked his lips. "I'll take care of you."_ _

__Jason swallowed, and let her lead him to bed._ _

__*_ _

__Hours, _days_ later, he lay beside Talia. Her skin was warm against his, her fingers curled around his hip and he felt... empty._ _

__It had been good, more than good. Physically, anyway, that wasn't the problem. But now the heat had passed and his body had calmed, letting his thoughts clear in a way that not even drawing the memory of what it had been like to have her over him, _in_ him, could make better. An itch had been scratched, that was all. Now he was left only with the urge to take a very long and hot shower in its wake._ _

__Jason turned his head and looked at the opposite wall from the bed, where his newspaper clippings and photographs of the new Robin hung. Somehow the Boy Wonder's gaze seemed more accusing than before._ _

__Anger surged, but he kept his movements slow, not wanting to wake Talia on the off-chance that she was truly asleep. With care he slipped a knife out from under the mattress, priming it in his fingers before letting the blade fly through the air to sink with a dull thunk into the shadow of the Bat in one of the pictures._ _

__It didn't matter, he told himself. After today he'd have suppressants and he wouldn't ever have to worry about this ever again, he would be done with letting his body's phases dictate his life._ _

__There were more important things to think about._ _

__

__3._ _

__He was eighteen, then nineteen, heat-free, and Jason didn't regret a thing about it._ _

__It was easier to be who he wanted to be this way, easy to scent himself up in alpha or beta perfumes, or to neutralise his scent completely to keep the people around him guessing. No one knew who or what the Red Hood was, not when Jason had grown tall and big to a degree that he might've been called 'butch' if anyone knew the truth of his designation. Of course, if anyone had dared he would have broken the culprit's teeth, but the thing was he didn't have to, because no one _knew_._ _

__He still broke the teeth of those who preyed on other omegas when he found them, because some things could never fail to make him furious. Pimps and abusive alphas didn't last long in the Red Hood's neighbourhood._ _

__But there was no stop and start every three months to his plans, no worrying that what he'd begun could be interrupted by an ill-timed attack of need-to-breed, because Jason was not a slave to his designation. He was himself, he was free and he was ready to do what he had to do._ _

__He was cleaning up the city his way, the _right_ way, and nothing and no one was going to stop him._ _

__

__4._ _

__"Whoa, not looking so hot there, Jaybird."_ _

__He was twenty-one, and slowly recuperating from an unfortunate series of bullet wounds to the leg, chest and shoulder. A strong prescription of painkillers and antibiotics had come as a 'recommendation' when the infection hit (he hated fighting in sewers), and because his luck was always that bad the instructions said he couldn't take them with suppressants._ _

__Jason would have ignored that warning, were he not currently under the care of the most annoying, but diligent nurse in history._ _

__"I'm serious, you're burning up again." Roy frowned as he pressed the back of his hand to Jason's forehead, ignoring the weak slap of his palm against his wrist. "Actually, you smell -"_ _

__"Y'just said I wasn't looking hot." Jason pointed out, sullenly. He tried to push Roy away again. "Stop fussin'. I'm fine."_ _

__Jason hated being laid up more than anything, and could only thank whatever god existed that Roy's tech skills had fixed them up with what was probably the most effective air conditioning in the world. If he had to deal with being sick and immobile while being cooked by the islands perpetually balmy weather he might have actually gone ahead and put himself back in the ground. It'd probably be cooler down there with the dirt and the worms, anyway._ _

__"Jason, I think you're going into heat."_ _

__"Fuck off."_ _

__Roy rolled his eyes, "Dude, don't be a dick. I'm trying to help you here." He ran his fingers over Jason's head, brushing back the sweaty curls from his face. "It'll probably be a weak one since you just quit the suppressants a few weeks ago-"_ _

__"Since you made me quit the suppressants." Jason groused._ _

__"-and I don't think your body's got the strength to go full force right now." His best friend continued to look disapprovingly down at him. Jason heroically resisted the urge to tell him to fuck off again, just barely. "How long have you been on those things, anyway?"_ _

__Roy was probably right, though Jason honestly couldn't tell the difference between the leftover fever from his infection and his body's attempt to be fertile. He felt too plain awful all over to be even remotely horny. "Uh, four years, I think?"_ _

__"Four years _straight_?" Roy asked, incredulously._ _

__Christ, Jason did not need this right now. He reached his good arm out from the bed and fumbled for his phone on the dresser, looking for something to distract himself with. He'd even take looking at shitty celebrity news reports of who was fucking who over this conversation. "Yeah, why?"_ _

__"You know they recommend you come off them for at least six months every two years, right?"_ _

__"I'm not an idiot, Roy." Jason grumbled, pulling a face at the latest news reports from Gotham. Blah blah, Batman saves the day. Blah, blah, Bruce Wayne donates to worthy cause. What else was he expecting? He'd be better off replaying levels of Candy Crush. "So what, I don't want to deal with that bullshit. I've got enough in my life already."_ _

__"Jaaaay..."_ _

__"What? Ow! Did you just _flick_ me? How old are you?" Roy leaned easily out of the range of his attempt at retaliation, since Jason had all the power of a newborn kitten in his swing right now. He cursed when his phone slipped out of his fingers, bouncing from the mattress onto the floor._ _

__"Older than you, so you know, you should listen to the wisdom of your elders." He watched Roy bend down to retrieve it for him. "C'mon, heat's not all bad. The best sex of my life has been heat sex."_ _

__"The best sex of my life hasn't been." And wow, that turned out to be a lot more honest than Jason had intended. Pain and exhaustion, as well as some very good drugs, were a lethal combination against his personal statute of secrecy._ _

__Roy's mouth twisted as he straightened up, but that was the only response he showed to the raw truth Jason had just spouted. Bless him, he really did know Jason well enough to know when a certain subject was a bomb waiting to go off. Anyone else might have blundered into asking for more detail, but Roy just carried on trying to make his point._ _

__Yeah, Jason decided he might just earn that 'best friend' badge for his sash after all._ _

__"Are you telling me, when you joined me and Kori when I went into heat last month, it wasn't the best sex of your life?"_ _

__Well, actually... Jason admittedly felt like shit right now. His body ached all over, and when the painkillers weren't working it was like someone was raking nails over a chalkboard in his head, but the thought of those couple days when he and Kori had fucked a desperate, needy Roy stupid between them still managed to make his cock twitch._ _

__He flushed, half-heartedly baring his teeth under Roy's knowing gaze. "It was up there. But that was you in heat, not me."_ _

__"You think we wouldn't take care of you the same way, if you wanted us to, Jaybird?"_ _

__Jason was too sick to be having this conversation, and way too sick to be having the kind of fantasies that question inspired. "God, Roy, I don't..."_ _

__"Not this time, obviously." Roy assured him, gently brushing his fingers over Jason's forehead again. "Even if you weren't full of holes," Jason rolled his eyes as Roy snickered before turning serious again. He never understood how he could flip between modes so easily. "No heat fucks without prior consent."_ _

__Jason found himself suddenly thinking back to Talia; how her fingers had been firebrands on his shoulder, how the spice of her scent had filled his nose when she asked him if he wanted her help._ _

__He remembered the regret he had felt after they were done._ _

__"Yeah, no, I get it." Jason draped his arm over his face, a wave of nausea that had nothing to do with the infection washing over him. "Just... don't talk more about sex now then. Fuck."_ _

__"Okay." Roy's voice was softer than before, and Jason was glad he couldn't see his face, too afraid that if he did the older omega would see right through him. Heat had always left Jason feeling uncomfortably vulnerable and open - it was one of the reasons he'd leapt at the chance to live without it - and that was even worse when coupled with the kind of sickness that felt lodged deep in his bones. "I'm serious though, Jay, you should think about staying off the suppressants for a while after you're done with the antibiotics. Give your body a chance to equal out again."_ _

__"Please, Roy," His voice didn't crack, not one little bit. "Not now." _Not ever_._ _

__There was a sigh, then he felt the bed sink down on his good side as Roy climbed on, "What're you -"_ _

__"Hey, I may not able to get down and dirty with you right now, Jaybird, but I can still offer my professional cuddling services."_ _

__Jason snorted as he felt Roy snuggle up against his side, the archer slung one well muscled arm over his stomach and pillowed his head on Jason's uninjured shoulder. As much as he'd hate to admit it the contact did make him feel a little better, or at least he was too tired to argue about it._ _

__"You don't have to stay with me, you know. I'd be fine alone," Jason had plenty of experience at it. "Y'should go be with Kori and your kid. No point in two of us being bored and miserable." Roy didn't bring Lian out to the island that often, and the idea of her missing out on time with her mother because of him made Jason feel more than a little guilty._ _

__"Nah, you can't get rid of me that easy, Jaybird." Roy smiled against his shoulder, while his fingers began rubbing soothing circles over Jason's stomach. "Besides, Kori's got Lian drawing you 'get well' pictures and I'm not allowed to see them until they're done."_ _

__"Are you kidding me?"_ _

__"Mm, nope, she loves her Uncle Hood."_ _

__How was this his life now? The Jason from a year ago never would have been here. That Jason wouldn't have trusted anyone to be beside him when he was this weak, drugged to the gills with the good kind of painkillers and barely able to lift a finger, let alone a gun. Now he had friends, honest to God, actual real friends who gave a damn about his well being. Hell, he even had a little girl who called him her 'uncle' and liked to curl up on his lap whenever they watched cartoons together._ _

__He was getting soft, there was no other explanation for it._ _

__"Fine." Jason pretended to grumble, letting his eyes slide closed. It felt like the newest dose of drugs was answering the call of duty. "Just don't drool on me."_ _

__"I don't drool."_ _

__"Kori and some of the pillows in the laundry would love to argue that with you." He replied, or tried to reply. Jason might have lost some words at the end there, it was hard to tell._ _

__"Slurring a bit there, champ." Roy chuckled, and Jason felt him lean up to press a sloppy kiss against his cheek. "Nighty night, Jaybird. Dream unsexy dreams."_ _

__"Shuddup, Roy."_ _

__

__5._ _

__He was twenty-two and Dick -_ _

__Dick was dead._ _

__In an ironic twist of fate he couldn't go to the funeral for the same reason Dick didn't go to his. He didn't even find out until weeks late and it was so damn fucked up. Evil Justice League, evil Bruce and he missed it all. _Dick was dead_._ _

__Being the founder of the Dead Robin's Club, he didn't feel so great about having two more members join in the last year. Jason couldn't even bring himself to hope in the possibility of them coming back, miracles didn't just happen, no matter what Bruce believed. His own resurrection had been a fluke, a still unexplained turn of the universe and the memory continued to horrify him enough not to wish it on anybody else._ _

__Dick and Damian would be better off staying dead than going through what Jason did to come back to the world of the living._ _

__At least, he told himself so, hoping it would make him feel better._ _

__"You're still a fucking asshole." Jason said to the grave. He was grateful that Bruce hadn't buried Dick next to his own still standing headstone, since he tried very hard to forget its existence most days. "This shit wasn't supposed to happen to you, Goldie. You were supposed to be the best of us, only fuck ups like me are supposed to die, you know?"_ _

__He tugged his fingers through his hair, resisting the urge to take out a cigarette. Dick never liked him smoking, even before Jason gave him real reason to dislike him on principle, and he wasn't enough of a jerk to light up at Dick's grave._ _

__Jason thought of all the other things he could say, maybe should say in this moment; confessions of an adolescent crush that had never really gone away, apologies that hung off the edge of his tongue and might be easier to say to a dead man rather than a living one. He could even tell Dick how much he'd missed him over the years, really missed him during his own forced exile from the family._ _

__In the end he simply shook his head, scuffed his boot over the grass and turned to walk away. It was better he get going before Alfred or Bruce could find him here._ _

__Besides, he was cutting it close enough as it was._ _

__The ride back to his safehouse from the graveyard took twenty minutes at the speed Jason drove. It was almost twenty minutes too long. Jason locked his bike away in the downstairs garage and took the stairs at a run, bounding for the safety of the upstairs apartment with the kind of desperation he hadn't had to worry about for years._ _

__This might be the day he regretted finally taking Roy's advice, even if he hadn't before. True to his word, Roy and Kori had more than shown Jason how amazing a shared heat could be when you had someone you trusted beside you, easing ingrained fears with patience and understanding. He loved them, he really did, which was why it was going to suck even more to spend this one heat solo._ _

__It was his own fault of course, he could've waited to go see Dick's grave. Hell, he could even have asked Roy and Kori along, they would have come with him in a heartbeat, but he'd known that it had to be something he did alone. Self-punishment, maybe. He didn't really want to think too hard about it._ _

__Jason didn't wait to strip off his clothing as he made for his bed. There was no fear of anyone seeing, or overhearing him here since he owned the entire building. There were no other tenants. The alarms were primed and, just before he flopped down onto the mattress, Jason hit the lights, plunging the room into darkness with only the ambient glow of Gotham herself to help him see._ _

__He let it build for a while, keeping his eyes closed as he concentrated on breathing slow and steady, waiting until he was already wet and hard between his legs before he trailed his hand down. Some of the toys Roy had introduced him to were in his bag, including a knotting vibrator, but he wanted to start off simple and save the big stuff for later, when the desperation for contact would really start to get to him._ _

__Jason brushed his thumb over the head of his cock, eyes still closed. He tried to imagine his touch was not his own, that it was Roy or Kori in the bed with him, their fingers warm as they ran over his length. He didn't need lube, not with how much his own body was already producing._ _

__He dipped his fingers further down between his legs, gathering slick over them and teasing at his entrance. Roy liked to tease him, liked to work Jason up before he put his fingers or tongue in him, and the memory made Jason's breath catch in his throat. He tried to imagine Kori kissing him at the same time, her strong jaw working as she fucked her tongue into his mouth. She'd press their chests together, her breasts a soft, heavy weight that he'd cup in his hands and squeeze..._ _

__"Shit..." he mumbled, arching into his own touch. Regret at not asking them to come with him ignited in his chest as Jason pushed his fingers inside himself impatiently, barely waiting to move from two to three. He was already loose enough thanks to the onset of his heat. "Shit, shit..."_ _

__Jason rocked his hips down against his fingers, curling them as he searched for his own sweet spot. His other hand wrapped around his cock as he threw his head back against the pillow. "Come on... Come on..."_ _

__He didn't think he'd masturbated like this since he was a teenager, back before he died, when his fantasies were filled with -_ _

__It didn't hit Jason at first, how easily his imagination turned from red hair and green eyes, to something else, _someone_ else. He bit his lip hard enough to bruise, gasping and crying out loud. Blue eyes, dark hair, the lean, strong build that he'd always wanted to run his hands over, and the scent of salted caramel..._ _

__"Dick." He mumbled, hating himself as he worked his fingers faster, harder. "Fuck, Dick..." God, it was wrong, it was really wrong to do this now, but he couldn't stop. The image of Dick on top of him was as powerful as it had ever been, made worse by the knowledge that whatever infinitesimal chance he'd ever had at making it come true was gone forever._ _

__Dick touching him, Dick kissing him, his teeth sinking into the skin of Jason's neck as his cock fucked _deep_ inside. "Oh God..." he rolled his hips up, down, thrusting his fingers into himself in a faster rhythm. "Dick... Dick, fuck!"_ _

__He came, shooting off over his hand and stomach, hot wet slick spurting down his thighs before Jason rolled over onto his side, shaking with the strength of his orgasm._ _

__"Jesus Christ," he whispered to himself, turning his face into the pillow. "I'm fucked up."_ _

__Jason hadn't cried when he found out the news, he hadn't even cried at the gravestone, but he cried now. Alone and curled up in a too-big bed, heat and post-orgasm endorphins running through his veins, missing the scent of the brother he'd burned bridges with long before death took Dick Grayson from the world._ _

__

__6._ _

__"Hey beautiful." Lips touch the side of his neck, and Jason gave up on arranging pillows to shiver and let his head fall back to give Dick better access._ _

__He is twenty-four and things are good. Really, actually _good_._ _

__"Are those flowers?" Jason blinked at the burst of brightly coloured blossoms Dick thrust up in front of his face, while his lips continued to press over his neck. "You actually bought me flowers. _Me_. Are you high?"_ _

__Dick laughed huskily, nosing closer and tapping the bouquet against Jason's chest until he gave in and took them. "Nothing but the best for you, little wing. Especially today."_ _

__"You're like one of those dumb retriever dogs." Jason rolled his eyes as Dick wrapped his arms around his waist from behind. He tried to hide his grin as he stretched over to put the flowers down on the dresser. "I send you one text and you come running with your tail wagging."_ _

__"You love it." Teeth nipped at his skin as the alpha rocked his hips forwards against his ass. Dick didn't seem to want to waste any time, that was for sure. He wasn't necessarily wrong about Jason loving it either. "Called Oracle, let her know we're off-roster for the next few days."_ _

__"Holy shit, you are eager about this, aren't you?" Jason reached down to loosen Dick's hold on him, enough that he could turn around to face him. Dick's hair was windswept from the bike ride to the apartment (Jason's, because he got antsy about the mess Dick left lying around in his home at the best of times, and heat would only make it worse) and Jason smirked at the sight as he looked down at him. "You even look like an overgrown puppy."_ _

__Dick snorted, and reached up to cup Jason's face in his hands, "Are you telling me you're not? I mean, I remember when you were fourteen, and you came into kitchen that time and -"_ _

__"Fuck, Dick. Don't bring that up. That was my first -" Jason felt himself flush at the memory, shoving Dick's chest. "I will kick your ass."_ _

__"Just saying, the way you blushed when I caught you in the doorway was really cute." He rubbed their noses together before finally kissing him, a surprisingly soft slide of lips. "Not as cute as you are now, of course."_ _

__"Way to save on sounding like a predator, Dickiebird." Jason shuddered. His skin was starting to itch under the constraints of his clothing. His fingers twined in the front of Dick's shirt, pulling the collar down._ _

__Dick seemed to sense - or smell - it, as he slid one hand down to catch Jason's wrist while kissing him again, rubbing his thumb soothingly over the back of his hand. His mouth was firm and unyielding as he flicked his tongue over the omega's lips, coaxing them open and Jason would deny whimpering until the end of his days at how excruciatingly good it felt when Dick's tongue fucked into his mouth._ _

__A step took them to the edge of the bed Jason had been so carefully arranging to his liking, another had them falling down onto it in a tangle of limbs. Some of the pillows fell off onto the floor and he couldn't bring himself to care. Nesting was only something he'd taken up as a habit once Roy showed him how._ _

__There were more important things to think about now, like the fact that Dick was here, in his bed; the fact that they'd been going out for two months and Dick hadn't gotten tired of him, hadn't come to his senses, hadn't decided that shacking up with the black sheep of the family was a giant mistake and taken his interest elsewhere._ _

__"Too many clothes." he gasped, as soon as he was able. Jason pulled harder on Dick's collar, in a direction that was completely counterproductive to what he wanted._ _

__"I know, Jay." Dick shuddered on top of him. He moved his mouth up Jason's jaw before licking behind his ear, directly over his scent gland. "God, you smell so good. I just want to eat you up."_ _

__"Fuck! Dick, what the hell was..." He moaned when Dick did it again, dragging his tongue over the sensitive skin. " _Holy shit_."_ _

__Dick hummed as he pulled back, smirking down at Jason. "Like that, little wing?"_ _

__"Why have you never done that before?" Jason demanded. He'd stretched Dick's shirt collar beyond any chance of the fabric bouncing back and if he pulled anymore he'd end up tearing it - which actually didn't sound like that bad an idea, since it would be a step closer to getting Dick naked._ _

__"I was saving it for a special occasion." He felt him smirk against his ear, right before he dragged his tongue over Jason's scent gland _again_. This time Jason did tear Dick's shirt._ _

__He heard Dick swear softly, but he didn't seem that put out as he finally sat up on Jason's lap, pulling the fabric up and over his head. Jason didn't waste time in leaning upwards and fastening his mouth over a nipple, licking and sucking hungrily on the erect bud as Dick hissed and ran his fingers through Jason's curls. "And you said I was eager."_ _

__Jason pulled back, snorting as he pushed his hand against the bulge in Dick's jeans. There was some young, forever teenage part of him that still got giddy about getting to touch him. "Going through a little thing we call heat, Dickie, you may have heard of it. Now are you going to sit there and talk or are you actually going to do something about that?"_ _

__Oh, the forever teenage part of him would have been creaming his pants at the look that came over Dick's face then. Dark, predatory and so very lustful. Doing something it was then._ _

__He didn't have time for another quip before Dick's mouth was back on his, his tongue thrusting forwards against Jason's. The omega tried to move his hips under the alpha's weight and rock upwards. He could feel his underwear already soaking through. "Clothes, fuck, Dick now!" Jason felt like he was being boiled alive inside them._ _

__"I've got you." Dick hummed, licking over Jason's mouth wetly before pulling back. His hands encouraged Jason to arch his back up so he could peel his shirt off. "I've got you, Jay. Let me take care of you."_ _

__There was something about Dick that everyone around him both loved, and was singularly frustrated by in equal measure, and that was the way he committed himself to anything he set his sights on whole-heartedly. It wasn't quite the same obsessiveness with which Bruce fought crime, but, whether it was in his personal or professional life, once Dick decided he was going to do something there wasn't much anyone else could do but hang on for the ride - or try to smack some sense into him when he needed it._ _

__(Like when he'd gone along with Bruce in pretending to be dead for a year. But Jason was over that, and had forgiven him a little more readily than anyone else after punching him in the jaw. Given that he'd also once hidden the fact he was alive from the family it would have been massively hypocritical of him not to.)_ _

__In this situation Jason wasn't going to complain one little bit about Dick deciding to give his hundred-percent effort into fucking the heat out of him, not at all._ _

__His underwear and sweatpants went next. Jason lifted his hips at Dick's behest, gasping as gloriously cool air rushed over his burning skin, seconds before Dick wrapped his mouth around Jason's cock and made him gasp for a completely different reason. "Fuck! Fuck, Dick!"_ _

__His fingers slid into Dick's hair, combing through the dark strands and he moaned as Dick took him deeper into his mouth. Jason spread his thighs wider on instinct, trying not to buck upwards. He might be in heat but that didn't mean he had to lose all control. "Please, I..."_ _

__Then Dick slid two fingers inside him, easy as you please, and Jason's eyes rolled back into his head. The sound he made would've been embarrassing if he'd been capable of feeling that emotion anymore. "More," he panted, "More, Dickie, I can take more. C'mon, _please_." _ _

__He hadn't expected to fall apart so quickly, to be so desperate so fast and there were definitely going to be bruises left from his fingers on Dick's magnificently muscled shoulders tomorrow._ _

__"Please." Jason begged again, trying to spread his thighs wider, arching his head back in an invitation Dick couldn't see while his mouth was busy working over Jason's cock. He was sure Dick knew what he was doing to him anyway, breaking down all of Jason's walls with the press of his tongue and the thrust of his fingers deeper into his cunt. He whimpered when Dick finally added a third, curling them inside him. "I... Dick, shit... I'm gonna..."_ _

__Dick's mouth slid off of him with a wet slurp and he almost sobbed at the loss, except that Dick thrust his fingers harder and faster into him to make up for it. "Yeah, come on, Jay. Come on, show me, little wing. Show me you love it when I've got my hand inside of you. Fuck, you're so wet, bet I could get in all the way up to my wrist."_ _

__His face reddened as Dick talked. One of those things he should've expected, but hadn't, when they first started this was how much of a dirty talker Dick was in bed. He was absolutely filthy with his words, could talk Jason up to orgasm as much as touch him. "Jesus, Dick!"_ _

__"Come for me," Dick purred, licking a stripe over Jason's neck, before teasing him with the edges of his teeth. "Come on, come for me now before I fuck you, Jay, before I _knot_ you."_ _

__That did it. Jason sobbed, moaned and arched his hips upwards, coming wet and hard over Dick's thrusting fingers and his stomach. His al - boyfriend eased him through it, gradually slowing the pace of his fingers before he leaned up to kiss him. "You fucker..." Jason murmured, his fingers curling in the hair at the nape of Dick's neck._ _

__"You can just say 'thank you'." Dick looked particularly smug for a moment, before wincing. "And uh, maybe help me out of these jeans?"_ _

__Jason laughed, "Getting a little tight for you there, cowboy?"_ _

__"I can think of other places I'd rather have my cock right now."_ _

__"That was terrible, you're not even trying now." Jason snorted, then groaned as Dick slid his fingers out of him. The sated feeling currently running through his body wasn't going to last long, so he had as much interest in getting Dick out of his jeans as the alpha did. He pushed at him, until Dick backed up and flopped over onto his back, letting Jason climb on top of him instead._ _

__It was easy to snap open the fastening on Dick's jeans, even with shaking fingers and Dick's lascivious eyes trailing over his body as Jason worked. The alpha obediently lifted his hips when prompted, groaning himself as Jason slipped his jeans and boxers down and off his legs in one fell swoop. "Better?" Jason asked, with a smug grin of his own as he wrapped his hand around the hard length of Dick's cock._ _

__He hissed. "Yeah, yeah, loads better, Jay." Dick's hands settled on his hips as Jason roughly stroked him. He could see a flush settling over Dick's tanned skin, and swallowed when his tongue darted out over his lips. Jason knew intimately well now just what that tongue was capable of. "Mmm, I love your hands."_ _

__Dick loved a lot about him. He told Jason regularly how much he loved his hands, his mouth, his eyes and so on, words that skirted dangerously near to the big three one's. One's Jason sometimes dreamed of hearing him say one day, as much as the thought terrified him. Physical intimacy was something Jason had come to grips with in the past couple years, but emotional intimacy was still a problem most days. Fear and elation warred in equal parts at the idea that he and Dick might one day reach that level._ _

__That day wasn't today though. Today was this, them, together in the only way that mattered now. Jason had fantasised about this since he was a teenager, he'd be damned if he let himself getting distracted when that fantasy was actually coming true._ _

__"Like this." He whispered instead, moving his hips forwards, sliding the wet heat of his cunt teasingly over Dick's cock. "Like this, Dickie?"_ _

__Dick's eyes were blown as his fingers squeezed his hips tighter, ensuring Jason would be wearing marks tomorrow too. "Yeah, just like that, Jay. Come on, let me in you. Please, please let me in, Jay."_ _

__His breathing stuttered as Dick said it, so eager and knowing, so happy to put the ball in Jason's court and let him take the lead in this. They'd fucked before now, not too many times, enough that they knew what the other was okay with, but heat, heat was something different. Sharing a heat was a blatant declaration of trust between anyone, and especially between them._ _

__"Condom." he blurted out, trying to cover up for the sudden rush of heat-enhanced emotion he was feeling. "Uh..." Jason moved, trying to ignore the way Dick was looking at him like he was a particularly adorable stray kitten as he fumbled in the bedside drawer. He managed to grab the packet and pick one out without embarrassing himself too much, or so he hoped._ _

__He didn't expect Dick to take hold of his other hand while Jason tore the wrapper open with his teeth, drawing it up to his mouth and nipping lightly at his fingers as he tried to roll the damn thing on the alpha's cock. "Jesus, Dick... you need to... I'm trying to..."_ _

__"Jay." Dick hummed in his perfect, sinful voice, letting out a full throated groan as the omega finally got the condom on him. He couldn't quite get into position fast enough, taking hold of Dick's cock while Dick himself was sucking on his fingers like they were candy. His eyes never once left Jason's face, greedily drinking in how flustered the younger man had become._ _

__He was such an asshole that way, and Jason loved it as much as it made him squirm._ _

__Neither of them looked away from the other when he lifted himself up, positioning himself over Dick's cock, and then slid slowly downwards. Dick moaned out loud at the wet, greedy clench of Jason's cunt around him, while Jason himself grit his teeth and squeezed his hands into fists where they rested on top of the alpha's chest. "Fuck," he spat out, " _Fuck_."_ _

__"Yeah, that's the idea." Dick sounded breathless. His fingers were back on Jason's hips, holding him steady as he took a moment to adjust himself. "God, you feel good, Jay, you feel so damn good."_ _

__"Shut up, just..." Jason flushed, forcing his hands to relax so he could press them down, palms flat over Dick's shoulders. He sucked in a breath before easing himself upwards, groaning at the slick slide of Dick's cock out of him, then back in when he dropped his weight back down. "Oh, damn - ah!"_ _

__He felt Dick grip his hips tighter, using his hands to help Jason move. The intensity of his blue-eyed gaze made the omega squirm all over again, and in retaliation he rolled his hips down harder, trying to stop Dick from looking at him that way; like he was something incredible, like he was worth a damn. It wasn't that it didn't feel good, it was that Jason couldn't - didn't know how to handle Dick looking at him that way sometimes, and especially not now._ _

__All he wanted was a good fuck, they could save the mushy shit for another time. That time being possibly never._ _

__Jason shuddered as Dick levered himself up from the mattress, keeping Jason on his lap, but moving so he could press his mouth to his bare shoulders, tongue laving over the rough patches of his scars. A steady string of swears, interrupted by moans and quiet gasps, escaped the omega's lips as they moved together with quickly growing urgency._ _

__"Jay," Dick groaned, when Jason raked his nails down his chest and it was the only warning he got before Dick flipped them, pushing Jason onto his back before settling back between his legs. "Little wing."_ _

__He licked his lips, then arched his back, his whole body surging upwards as Dick pushed back into him. Jason didn't hesitate to press his thighs in against Dick's hips. "Yeah, Dick... yeah, come on, please..."_ _

__"I've got you." Dick promised, his voice a low, even growl that sent spikes of heat shooting through Jason's belly. Just when he thought he couldn't get any _more_ aroused..._ _

__Positioned like this there wasn't much Jason could do but hang on as Dick ploughed into him, his hips working at a furious pace as he kissed wet trails up Jason's neck. They kissed, hard and without finesse, with too much teeth in the mix to be truly comfortable. Building desperation had taken any remaining control that they had._ _

__Jason had had a lot of the sex in the past, but surprisingly little of it had been with alphas. He never imagined he had missed much before, and he still didn't, because no other alpha was Dick Grayson. No other alpha would make him feel safe rather than threatened, treasured rather than possessed, no other could have made him lose himself in this moment the way Dick did._ _

__He yelled, grateful for the soundproofed walls of his apartment when he came again. His eyes squeezed shut as he tilted his head back into the pillow and felt Dick move his mouth downwards onto his neck, teeth just barely digging into his skin an unspoken question. Jason knew what he wanted, and nodded at first, before forcing himself to voice his permission hoarsely. "Yes."_ _

__A sound that he would forever deny as a needy sob worked its way out of him when Dick sank his teeth into his throat, working the flesh until it would bruise in a perfect imprint. All the while he kept thrusting, driving his hips as hard and deep as he could manage into Jason's slick passage until, with an almost agonised sounding snarl, he came._ _

__The condom stopped Jason from being able to feel it the way he would ideally want to, but the fullness of Dick's knot swelling up inside him more than made up for that loss._ _

__Post-coital afterglow stalled any conversation for at least five minutes, which was probably some kind of record for both of them as the resident chatterboxes of the family. Jason groaned the moment Dick tried to move even a little, and briefly reflected that missionary probably hadn't been the most comfortable position for them to get locked together in._ _

__"Don't..." he grumbled, still hypersensitive from his orgasm, and trying to forestall his body demanding another one before he'd had a few more minutes to recuperate first._ _

__Dick kissed his neck in quiet apology and settled himself back down, his hair tickling against Jason's chin as he used one finger to draw lazy spirals down the length of the omega's arm. "You okay, little wing?"_ _

__It was a perfectly normal question to ask, Jason thought, and it surprised him that for once his answer could be a perfectly normal one in turn. There was no lie here. "I'm good. I... I'm good, Dick."_ _

__He felt Dick smile against his neck, directly over the bite mark he'd left there. "Good." He echoed, "Because I've got a lot of plans on how I'm going to take care of you for the rest of your heat, Jay, and I want to be sure you're with me all the way, okay?"_ _

__"Dick..."_ _

__Jason blinked, then rolled his eyes before running his fingers back through Dick's soft hair. He was probably going to be questioning how he ever managed to get this sappy idiot into his bed for the rest of his days. "Of course I'm with you, moron. I wouldn't - we wouldn't be here now if that weren't already true."_ _

__Dick nodded and the hand he was drawing with on Jason's arm slid down to twine their fingers together "That's all I needed to hear, Jay."_ _

__In another more perfect world, where they'd both gone through far less toil and strife, where they weren't superhero's but ordinary people, this would be the moment where they said they loved each other. Life wasn't a movie though, so there was no confession, no swell of music; it was just the two of them lying together in the bed, listening to the sound of each other breathing._ _

__Jason was more than okay with that, he knew that anything else wouldn't have felt right. This here, right now, was enough for him, it was already more than he'd ever thought he'd have. Everything else they could work their way up to in the future._ _

__One step at a time._ _

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was enjoyed! I think I have at least one more A/B/O story I'd like to write after this one, which might count as a direct sequel, and will deal with the other favourite trope of the genre after heat: pregnancy. No time frame on when I'll get to it though.
> 
> (I'm also heavily trying to resist a 'What if Talia knocked Jason up with Damian' story too).


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